Once Again

May's face was blank. She could not understand what was happening at the moment. But she was sure of one thing… that her pleading was granted. Her Master was standing before her eyes, full of diligence and indifference. A strange kind of mana swirled her Master. The mana around her Master was crying, screaming, warning that a wolf in the guise of a sheep has revealed itself. Drago's current state was the sole and most prominent proof of that warning.

He was panting hard, trying his best to gather mana over his gaping wound, but to no avail. He was so gravely injured that it was even hard for him to move his limbs.

Tap.

She saw her Master's body land lightly in front of her.

"You…"

He pointed towards her.

"What the hell were you thinking going that far?!" He was genuinely fuming with rage.

"Master… knew?"

"What did you take me for? I am your Master. How could I not know about my subjects' weaknesses?"

"..."

May stayed silent. She dared not to speak anymore. She was embarrassed that her Master was seeing such a puny side of her.

"Haa…"

Sou let out a dry sigh, full of annoyance.

"Now..."

Sou turned his head towards the panting Drago.

"Grr…" Drago growled but received no reaction from his assailant.

"Everyone. Rest."

Fwoosh…

Hundreds of shadows came rushing to him and dug into his shadow at an incredible speed, along with Mary, May, Junko, and Kakund.

(I don't care about this dungeon anymore…)

"Return."

"Just like I thought… You are not the Drago I know. Who are you?"

"Heh… hehe… HAHAHAHA! Who knew that I would have met such a remarkable human after all those years!"

"... What the fuck are you spouting?" Sou's voice was stone cold, brimming with hostility.

"Yes, you are right. I am not the one who you call 'Drago'. I am an ancient Dragon, Kolos."

"Hm?"

(That name somehow rings a bell…)

"I was honestly surprised when that big ass thing hit me. But…"

"But?"

"Your mana… how can you wield divine mana?" His face was dead serious. He was not joking anymore, nor was he pulling any leg.

(Divine mana?)

Sou thought for a moment.

And so, he decided to bluff his way out.

"And why should I tell you?" Sou leaked mana from his body, but unlike before, it was unbelievably pure and concentrated, causing cracks on the dungeon walls and floor.

"Wow…"

Kolos (Drago) watched the mana seep through the SSS-Grade dungeon in a daze. In his vision, it was beautiful, magnificent, smooth, majestic, as a whole, no words could describe what he saw. The mana resonated with the surroundings beautifully, and shone magnificently, and seeped through the dungeon's walls smoothly, and flaunted its majestic existence. As an ancient Dragon who has lived a very long life, and has seen many breathtaking phenomenons, the scene unfolding in front of his eyes easily stood out the most in his memories.

(Seeing how his jaw is open, my mana must be Divine mana…)

In truth, even Sou could feel the change inside him, but he could not make heads and tails of what happened to him. It was understandable. He was pushed down with the pressure of saving his summons, no, his friends right after his resurrection without any memories of what happened to him after his death, so it was natural for him to not think about it too much.

(... But now that I think about it…)

He was feeling a strange ecstasy that could not be compiled in simple words. A great surge of power was coursing through his veins and, surprisingly enough, he was able to control that power, not completely, but still to a frightening degree. For the record, only I can control Divine mana completely.

(I think I can pull this off.)

Sou was determined now. He felt it in his bones that he could bring back Drago.

"Oi." He called out to the dazed Kolos.

"Stop spacing out and let's start."

"..." Kolos stood silent, emotionlessly staring at Sou.

"Heeeeh…" A huge grin appeared on Kolos' face.

"Come!"

And Sou did. He relaxed his upper body which made his body fall forwards, and when he felt that it was enough for the maximum speed he wanted to reach, he shot towards the grinning Kolos.

Fwoosh!

His steps were silent like a silent stream, his body was light as a feather, and his speed was unfathomable. In an instant, he covered the gap between him and Kolos.

Kolos just stood without any movements, as if to be saying that this level of was nothing to him. And naturally, Sou caught the hint, but instead of getting pissed off, he got excited.

{Title 'Serial Killer' is in effect}

{The user's stats will be raised by 1000 as the user's enjoyment increases}

{Stats raised by 1000}

{Stats raised by 1000}

{Stats raised by 1000}

Sou ignored the flurry of messages floating in front of his eyes and dove straight towards his opponent.

"Take this"

Sou swung his hand at Kolos like a hammer moving like water. But Kolos could not be called an ancient Dragon if he was defeated by such an attack. As such, he evaded the effortlessly and appeared behind Sou like the wind.

"Tch!"

Sou didn't have any time to rest. He quickly threw his foot backward in hopes of getting him in movement, and he did. That's another thing that his foot got caught by Kolos, but at least his attack connected.

"Hoh… This one packed quite a punch…"

"Heh."

Sou jerked his foot out of the Dragon's grasp and took some steps back.

Fwoosh!

And dashed again towards Kolos who was leisurely grinning at Sou. This might have ticked him off.

Sou's fists and feet continued to throw themselves relentlessly at Kolos, sometimes intentional, and sometimes purely instinctual, but to no avail. Each attack of his was easily blocked off or did not have any effects. It was like Sou was hitting an indestructible boulder. That was how hard Kolos' body was at the moment.

"Oi! System!" Sou yelled at the thin air while continuing his ruthless attacks. Kolos tiled his head questioningly at the sudden yell.

"I need a weapon!" He yelled his lungs out, waiting for the system to respond. Well, I can guess what was the reasoning behind his incessant yelling.

(Come on! I know you are there!)

A system that responds to the wishes of its users. That was the system I gave him. But now… should I let him use 'that'? Well, it is not I that will decide on that. 'She' should let him use though…

Tring!

Yep, knew that.

{'Store' has been granted}

(Yes!)

Hoh… he knew of the store even before he actually saw it?

"Hup!" Sou quickly created distance between Kolos and him. Kolos was still looking at him with a confused face.

{The first purchase will be free for the user}

(I love you, system!)

Tzz-

A small spark appeared in front of Sou.

"...?" Even Kolos saw that and became even more confused, but Sou was even more confused. As something bound to him, Sou could even perceive the feelings of the system, and at the moment, the system was feeling…

(... Shy? No matter.)

He quickly drove those thoughts and opened the weapons tab in the store frame and chose something quickly.

Tzzzz-

Th sparks grew fiercer as a purple crack in the space appeared in front of Sou's, and from there, emerged one sharp-edged weapon, katana, to be precise.

"Fuu… it sure feels good to touch a weapon after three whole years."

Yes, Sou did not use any weapons during his three years of adventuring. Or maybe he did, just once though.

***

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powerstones are much appreciated...